


Passing Time

by PurpleArrowzandLeather



Series: One Big Batty Family [11]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman Beyond, Son of Batman (2014), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Bruce, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 02:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20499623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleArrowzandLeather/pseuds/PurpleArrowzandLeather
Summary: Two-face blows up an abandoned apartment complex in an attempt to pick off a few Bats. Bruce gets his sons out of harm's way, but he's not so lucky.





	Passing Time

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing.

“Dad!” 

The word echoes around in the open air, the smoldering ashes of what used to be an apartment building floating through the sky. Cement entwined with rebar is sprawled all over, some parts of the building still settling. 

Jason calls for Bruce again, shifting his younger brother by his knees to make sure he’s still awake. Terry groans, mumbling for Jason to leave him alone. He pulls his helmet from his head, the conflicting scans of his thermal imaging not helpful in the least. Standing on the edge of the destruction, he still can’t see anything. 

“Dad!” 

He would go searching, but he’s not about to leave Terry alone. He just has to call and see what the results are. He already called Dick to tell him what was going on as soon as he came around outside the building. Bruce had thrown both him and Terry clear of the building, telling them he’d be right behind them. 

Clearly, he had been wrong. Now, all that’s left is to find him. This is like Jason’s worst nightmare, just inverted. In his nightmares, it’s always him getting blown sky high and dying. Sure, he’s had plenty of dreams involving losing Bruce, but never like this. Never in his place in the explosion. 

Terry coughs, rubbing his face as he looks around. “What’s going on? W-where's Bruce?” 

Jason leans down, placing a careful hand on Terry’s head. “We’re still in uniforms, Just stay quiet, all right? No names.” 

“Where’s Bruce?” 

Jason quiets him, smoke making his eyes run as he strains to see Bruce in the rubble. “Shh. No names.” He coughs, covering his mouth and nose with a sleeve. He takes a breath to ease his mounting panic. “And I don’t know, Ter. I don’t know.” 

“W-we gotta find him, Hood.” 

“I know, but I have to stay with you. You might have a concussion.” 

Terry shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter.” He starts to crawl to his knees, but Jason holds him steady. “Doesn’t matter, we gotta find him. It-It doesn’t matter,” 

“Red-” 

Terry swats his hand away angrily, dragging himself upright. “No! Concussion or not, doesn’t matter! I can’t lose my old man again! Can’t, can’t.” 

“And I can’t let you hurt yourself trying to look for him. Bruce would kill me.” 

Terry tries to push him away from his shoulder, muttering under his breath almost incoherently. Jason hangs onto him, crouching down and pulling the boy into his arms. He says something about Bruce not killing, but Jason doesn’t pay any attention to him. He calls for Bruce again, wrangling Terry as the boy tries to squirm away from him. 

If comms weren’t on the fritz due to the explosion, he would radio in to see how far off Dick is or try to contact Bruce. 

“Okay, Red, listen to me. We’re going to walk to perimeter. And you’re going to tell me what you can see, all right?” 

“Mhmm.” 

He gets the boy to his feet and he stumbles, barely righting himself. Jason knows that it’s a terrible idea, but Terry is only going to get worse. If he can convince him they’re searching instead of leaving, he might be able to get him out. 

“You’re going the wrong way.” 

Jason sighs, lugging his brother up onto his shoulder to he can’t get away. “Yep. I lied.” 

Terry moans. “You got- gotta go back, Jay. Or... Or put me down, ‘cause m’ gonna puke. P-put me down, or I’ll do it on your jacket. I swear, m’ gonna do it, Jay.” 

Damn. 

Jason puts Terry down only to realize that the kid is a better actor that he gave him credit for. He sprints back towards the rubble as fast as he can, stumbling every few feet due to his concussion. He’s not running a straight line by any means. 

“Red, get back here!” 

Before Jason can catch him, he’s already in the remains of the building. Instead of dragging him out, he pushes him back to the edge of the blast zone. Terry is practically crying, but Jason promises him that he’ll look. Clearly, Terry isn’t about to leave without a fight. Jason hunts for Bruce, desperation coating his movements with a tremble that he can’t fight. 

“Come on, B. Come on.” 

“F-find anythin’?” 

Jason doesn’t answer, picking up a long shred of what looks to be Bruce’s cape. He digs down into the spot where he found it, but Bruce isn’t there. Bruce isn’t there and it does nothing for the shaking. 

“Dad!” 

Jason is thankful that no one is around to hear him yelling with so much vulnerability in his tone. Dick would never let him live it down, and if criminals heard it, his reputation would be ruined. 

There’s a groan from nearby alley and Jason swivels towards the sound. Another groan has him bolting for the dark space and Terry shouting after him. A dark form stumbles towards him and Jason gets under his arm when he recognizes his father. 

“Hood?” 

“Yeah, it’s me. We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” 

Bruce pulls to a stop, groaning as he leans away to push his weight against the wall. “You... are you and your brother all right? You both got out fine?” 

“Yeah, don’t worry.” 

“Good.” 

The older man rubs his head, straightening and nodding to his son to let him know he’s okay. Jason lets out a relieved sigh, lending Bruce a hand for balance as they walk over to Terry. The boy is sitting down again, looking lost even with his mask on. Bruce kneels in front of him with a little effort, something clearly not working as smoothly as he’d like. Probably his back. 

Jason huffs to himself._ Creaky __old __man_. 

Bruce glances around before talking to him, tugging his mask free. “Terry, look at me.” 

Jason keeps watch while Bruce checks him out, eyes searching for any danger or their rescue. He prays that Dick had enough sense to bring the Batmobile. He’s not going to let Bruce drive, and Terry is in no condition to swing home. 

“Backup?” Bruce asks, the question aimed at Jason even though he’s still looking Terry over. 

“En route.” 

“And Two-face?” 

Jason sighs, shaking his head with disappointment. “He got away. By my calculations, we were out for ten minutes, which is plenty of time for him to have made a getaway. Pretty sure we were just lucky that they didn’t stick around to kill or unmask us.” 

“Abandoned as the housing may be, it was possible that the explosion could have drawn attention. That works in our favor.” 

Jason turns when he hears the whirring of the Batmobile, helping Bruce get Terry to his feet. Dick jumps out of the car, herding them towards it and pushing them in. He wastes no time getting everyone settled and taking off. He doesn’t let Jason drive, but that’s just because all of them have apparently decided that it’s a disaster waiting to happen. 

Dick talks while he drives, glancing over at Bruce and taking in everything he can. There’s something he’s hiding, his posture all wrong. “So, I had Tim pull up the video feeds after you called and he tracked Two-face to a location in downtown. He took Damian and Cass with him to catch him and his henchmen while I came to get you. Stephanie will be arriving on-site at the explosion in a few minutes to collect evidence with Kate.” 

“Hn.” 

Jason perks up at the sound. “What?” 

“Where’s Billy supposed to be?” 

Dick shakes his head. “I told him to stay back and wait for us to get there. He and Alfred are ready for whatever treatment we might need. I figured we might need it, since Jason sounded kind of concerned.” 

Bruce has nothing to say to that. Dick glances back at Jason, wondering if he’s getting the same vibe. There is something that Bruce is ignoring for their sake. Jason nods while Bruce murmurs to Dick to look at the road. He sounds exhausted. 

Jason tunes into that in a heartbeat. “B, if something’s wrong, say so right the hell now.” 

The man is question doesn’t answer that either. Dick immediately reaches a hand over to disengage the locking mechanism in his cowl, pulling it off and checking his pulse. The fact that Bruce doesn’t protest only makes it worse. Dick pushes the Batmobile faster and Jason moves halfway into the front seat to monitor Bruce. 

His eyelids are fluttering, his gaze finding Jason and Dick before glazing and sliding away. He’s losing consciousness, and fast. Jason starts pulling off the armor that he can reach, giving Bruce as much room to breathe as he can. Terry makes a concerned sound, leaning forwards in an attempt to see. Jason gently pushes him back. 

“Just stay down, kid. I can’t worry about both of you, but I do need you to stay awake for me.” 

“M’kay.” 

Jason would never admit it, but he frets over Bruce. Stupid old man is too stubborn, which only makes it easier to see where all of them got it. Why is he even surprised? “Just stay with us, B. Stay with us.” 

Dick grits hits teeth, tapping at the controls to open up the door to one of their many secret passages. “Jay, tell me how he’s doing.” 

“I... can’t tell.” 

“It’s okay. We’re two minutes out, and then Alfred will be able to help. With any luck, he already called Leslie and she’s waiting for us too.” 

Jason scowls. “When have we ever been that lucky?” 

Dick doesn’t answer that, only clenching his jaw and flying towards the cave. He’s been working with Bruce for far too long to think that he’ll die from this, but knowing Bruce, it’s also worse than they think. 

Upon arrival, Jason gets Bruce out of the car and Dick grabs Terry. The boy jolts when it happens, but he doesn’t protest. Instead, he seems to be riding the adrenaline wave of something being wrong with Bruce. He’s murmuring under his breath, which Dick just takes as a blessing, since he’s staying conscious. Jason is busy over by the infirmary helping Alfred and Billy get set up. For a long time, all Dick hears is light chatter about Bruce’s condition. 

Of course, something has to go wrong. 

“Master Jason, a needle, now. Master Billy, grab his arms.” 

Dick turns, but a warning look from Alfred keeps him from rushing over. Bruce is squirming on the table, his back arching and breaths being taken as gasps. It takes every effort to keep tending to Terry, his protective instincts screaming at him to help Bruce but also commanding him to help his little brother. 

It’s almost too much. 

Jason isn’t having the same dilemma, too busy puncturing Bruce’s chest with the needle to make Bruce’s lung inflate. When his rhythm evens out, all three of them release a relieved breath. 

A long three hours later, Tim comes back with his posse and Kate trails after him. Tim pauses when he sees both Bruce and Terry in the infirmary, but it’s only momentary. He joins Jason and Dick at their sides, Damian immediately inquiring as to the state of his father’s health. 

Despite Alred’s insistence on their going to bed, all of them stay with their injured members through the night. Instead of arguing the point, he watches over them as he has done since the say Bruce took each of them under his wing. 

Bruce comes around at four in the morning, groaning in a practiced way to make sure no one wakes up. Alfred merely raises an elegant brow, watching Bruce shift around as if his lung hadn’t attempted to collapse. Bruce’s gaze finds his and he offers him a demure smile. 

Jason is the first to rouse, his eyes squeezing tighter before opening. “Mmm. ‘Ruse?” 

Bruce’s responding chuckle rumbles from his body in a way that brings immense comfort to his son, so much so that Jason can almost feel it in his own chest. “Good morning.” 

Jason nudges Dick’s hand, but the boy simply turns to his other side in a way that looks woefully uncomfortable. 

“Hey, B. You doin’ okay?” 

He takes a breath, the sound a little pluggy. “Just need a little time, promise. How’re the others?” 

“They’re fine. Tim apprehended Two-face with Damian’s help and Kate and Steph collected the necessary evidence to put him away again. It didn’t take much, but as far as the judge is concerned, it’s solid.” 

Bruce sags into his pillows, closing his eyes with relief. “Surprise, surprise.” 

To Jason’s shock, the words are almost rueful. “What?” 

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry, Jason. I’m just... thinking about all of this in a different kind of light. Every time we go out there, I run the risk of losing you.” 

“You’re just realizing this now? Come on, dad.” 

Bruce smiles warmly, not even realizing that Alfred is suddenly by his side adjusting his morphine drip. The old man smiles when Bruce spots him, not even telling him as much. “S’not, I’m just... glad you’re all okay.” 

Jason leans forwards, grabbing onto his hand and twisting his own into it. “We are, and we’ll all be right here when you wake up.” 

“M’already up.” He glances at Alfred. “Mmph. ‘Less Alfred has his way.” 

Jason squeezes his fingers, his brow creasing as Bruce takes a shaky breath. “Yeah. Alfie is gonna take care of you and Terry, all right? We all are. You just get some rest.” 

Bruce falls asleep and Jason’s expression turns pained. He gazes on his father’s slack features with trepidation. 

“What is wrong, young Master Jason?” 

Jason pulls his hand back, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. Alfred waits for him to speak even as he leans down like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. “He threw us out of the building. He took the explosion so we would get out okay.” 

“As is his way. I don’t see how this would be any different from any of the other times he’s done just the same.” 

Jason gestures to Bruce’s face. Even slack as it is, he can see the remnants of worry lines all over. “I just... hadn’t realized how old he’d gotten.” 

Alfred hums. “Much like all the rest of us, someday we must face the idea of old age. I can attest to that fact.” 

The boy huffs, closing his eyes as he resumes his former position, almost like a prayer. “How much do you want to bet that Bruce never expected to live this long? Or that he’d be the father of eight adopted children?” 

“Life, much like the weather, young man, if often unpredictable. That whomever controls our fates deemed it good for all of you to belong here is simply a blessing we must take to heart.” 

Jason hums, looking back up at Bruce with a smile. “Yeah. I guess so. I just can’t help but wonder if one of these days.... Well, I guess you already know what I’m wondering.” 

“I ask myself that very question every day, my boy, but I fear that it’s not in my hands.” 

“That would be too easy, wouldn’t it?” 

Alfred glances around the small infirmary, making a speculative noise. Even so, there’s a pleased light in his eyes. “Master Jason, I do not believe that easy was ever in the cards.” 

Jason grins, but there’s still sadness in his features. “All we can do is play with what we’re dealt.” 

“Those, young Master, are words to live by.” 


End file.
